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Risk management teams require "mix of personalities" to succeed

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In order to bring out the best in a risk management team, an organisation ought to recruit not only the most skilled individuals but also the right mix of personality types.

This is according to Sword Active Risk, which published a new infographic last month (December 10th) based on previous comprehensive research plus anecdotal evidence of what makes a top-shelf risk team tick.

The infographic describes three different risk manager archetypes: technicians, evangelists and drivers, all of whom have an important role to play in running the team successfully.

Technicians, whom Sword says make up around 60 per cent of all risk managers, tend to be analytical, cautious, numerate, precise and principled. However, their impressive ability to gain pertinent insights from data comes at a price: they often lack the requisite communication skills to force other departments to sit up and take notice.

Evangelists, on the other hand, are described in the Sword infographic as "inspiring leaders" who embody qualities of diplomacy and optimism. Nonetheless, their propensity to exaggerate and to be verbose mean that they sometimes "appear to lack gravitas", the firm said. These individuals account for around a third (30 per cent) of all risk managers.

Finally, the driver personality type is "very pragmatic, results-driven, focused and determined", according to Sword. These individuals are typically demanding and impatient, feeling that the end usually justifies the means. Just ten per cent of risk managers fall into this category.

Commenting on the launch of the infographic, Sword marketing director Keith Ricketts said that an ideal risk team ought to comprise a mix of technicians, evangelists and drivers in order to be "truly effective" and "bring out the best in the team as a whole".

"Technicians need evangelists to help them sell the benefits of risk management to other departments, including the board," he continued. "The risk team also needs some drivers to ensure that objectives are achieved, projects stay on track and are brought to a successful conclusion."

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